A
key audience-more than 200 owners, investors and securities analysts
whose opinions can have a tremendous
effect on the Boeing stock price-gave a generally positive response to the work
Boeing has done to deliver shareholder value and position itself for growth.

Boeing senior leaders last month gave this constituency a first-hand
account of the
company's plans and efforts at the annual Boeing investor conference, held in
New York. For Boeing, the goal of this annual event is to build the confidence
these key
investor representatives have in the company's strategy, leadership, performance
and future outlook. Their support of Boeing's achievements and outlook can translate
into higher stock prices. That in turn can enhance employee benefits tied to
Boeing stock, such as the Boeing stock holding in the Voluntary Investment Plan
savings
plan. Proper valuation and confidence
in Boeing's outlook is also important for capital market participants, who influence
the company's ability to raise capital to fuel growth and pursue new work for
the company and its people.

Based on the reports issued by several attendees
after the event, investors are picking up on the key messages about Boeing,
including two primary points:

• A focus on execution. Boeing President and CEO Harry Stonecipher
told conference attendees that the failure to execute is a bigger threat to
Boeing than its competitors
are. Attendees picked up on this message. "We believe Boeing's main focus is
execution on the existing backlog and 7E7 development, as well as improving
its standing
with its government customers to drive
improving earnings and cash flows," wrote
Sam Pearlstein of Jefferies & Company. Heidi Wood of Morgan Stanley, meanwhile,
wrote that Stonecipher "has challenged the business executives to expect more
of themselves" and set a goal for a 7 percent after-tax
return on sales.

• Growth potential. Wood wrote that Alan Mulally, Boeing Commercial
Airplanes
president and CEO, "is speaking bullishly
for the first time in four years." Steve Binder of Bear Stearns wrote that
Mulally "spoke of upward rate pressure on the 737 and 747-400 programs and
the strong prospects for the 7E7. And Nick Fothergill of Banc of America
Securities noted that Jim Albaugh, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems president
and CEO, "was confident that Boeing's current portfolio was diverse and sufficiently
focused on priority areas"-notably, network-centric applications such as
Future Combat Systems.

Despite this feedback, only one analyst chose to upgrade its rating
on Boeing's stock or raise its expectation on where the stock price may
reach. Analysts who cover Boeing based such decisions on various factors,
including weak near-term demand for airplanes, the costs needed to develop
the 7E7 and possible risk in the satellite business. However, in announcing
its first-quarter 2004 financial results in late April, Boeing raised
its expectations for revenues in 2005 and its guidance on earnings per
share for 2004 and 2005.

Attendees at conferences such as this realize these events are inherently
designed
to talk up the host company. But several representatives
at the Boeing event noted that
the company's executives made their forecasts
amid a backdrop of realism.

Fothergill wrote that Albaugh "took a realistic view, in our opinion,
about pressures on the U.S. defense budget and (its) programs decisions
ahead." And Howard Rubel of Schwab Soundview Capital Markets noted that
Boeing has "done multiple planning scenarios and factored lower growth
into its outlook" to account for a
reduced growth rate in defense spending.

"We were up front, reasoned and realistic in addressing the Department
of Defense budget and the growth within it. We were similarly direct
in our discussion about risks and opportunities facing Commercial Airplanes.
Investors gave us high marks
for addressing their concerns," said David Dohnalek, vice president of Investor
Relations
for Boeing.

Underscoring Chief Financial Officer
James Bell's assertion that Boeing's "financial
health is excellent and we're deploying our strong cash flow to return value
to investors," Boeing share performance was up 5.7 percent for the year through
May 24; the Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, was down 4.7 percent, and
the Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 1.9 percent.